Frame construction for racks with adjustable shelves



ACKS WITH ADJUSTA June 26, 1962.

lwezjaf: Josepa/ Sr/imm, y gaat M e/llgls J. ST. AMOUR June 26, 1962 FRAME CONSTRUCTION FOR RACKS WITH ADJUSTABLE SHELVES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 2l, 1951 2E Iaweazua'f.-

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United States Patent O 3,040,904 FRAME CONSTRUCTION FOR RACKS WITH ADJUSTABLE SI-IELVES IIoseph St. Amour, Newmarket, N.H., assigner to Kingston Manufacturing Co., Inc., Newields, N.H., a corporation of New Hampshire Filed Apr. 21, 1961, Ser. No. 104,591 1 Claim. (Cl. 211-147) The present invention relates to storage and dispensing racks of the type commonly used in retail estab-lishments operating on the self-service system. The particular object is to provide a frame and cooperating accessories permitting the ready adjustment of the relative positions and inclinations of supporting shelves through a series of small steps.

My invention will be well understood by reference to the illustrative embodiment shown by Way of example in the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective of ya unit storage rack;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary elevation of a part of one of the front supports partly Ibroken away and showing how the -front edge of the shelf is supported;

FIG. 3 is -a similar view showing how the rear edge is supported;

FIG. 4 is a perspective of the bracket or clip by which the rear edge of the shelf is engaged;

FIG. 5 isa horizontal section of the upright and bracket. The sectioning plane cuts the bracket along line 5-5 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 shows two laligned uprights with their webs and flange developed or opened out into a plane and showing the relationship thereto of the brackets; and

FIG. 7 is a schematic view showing how the brackets may Ibe formed from a strip of metal.

In many retail establishments at the present day, more particularly those operating on the self-service principle, goods are stored on and taken by the purchaser from racks 8 of the general type shown in FIG. 1 and consisting of a terraced series of shelves. For the sake of simplicity only two such shelves, 10 and 12, are shown in the drawing but obviously there may be a number of superposed shelves of each type. The front edges of the shelves in a stack are usually set progressively further to the rear so that the forward portion of each shelf is exposed topermit inspection of the goods at the forward portion thereof, and to permit the customer to pick up the leading article in a row and take it away.

Columns of packages or articles are arranged on the shelves, ordinarily on tracks such as the track 14 on the shelf 10 or, in the oase of the shelf 12 which stands at a low angle, a roller trackway 16. Only one track is shown in each clase, but it will be understood that a number may be set side by side on the various shelves and each receives a column of goods which is replenished at the rear as articles are taken away at the front. A flange 18 at the front of each shelf makes a stop for the head of the column.

To provide for the progressive setting back of the front edges of the shelves 4their forward ends may -be supported from rearwardly inclined members 20 and their rearward ends from vertical uprights 22 in the case of the shorter shelves 10, and 24 in the case of the longer shelves 12.

Only 4a single bay or section of the rack is shown in the drawings. It might be duplicated side by side and if extended toward the right in the figure the right-hand member 20, and uprights 22 and 24 would provide for the support of the opposed edges of two sets of shelves. That is, two bays would require only three sets of a member and two uprights, three bays four sets, etc.

The present invention relates more particularly to a 3,040,904 Patented June 26, 1962 ICC construction of frame providing for the support of shelves in desired positions of elevation and with desired angles of slope. In particular the purpose is to provide for a very line range of adjustment. The situation is quite different from that of ordinary horizontal shelves, such as those in a bookcase where positioning of the shelves with a spacing varying by increments of, say, one inch is provided Iby a movable series of lbrackets inserted in vertical series of holes on one-inch centers. In particular it is desirable to be -able to quickly shift one shelf relative to those on either side of it and to adjust its angle to facilitate or slow down the forward movement of the rows of goods on the tracks as their nature may require. A very slight change in the pitch may be required and the head room available with respect to other shelves and because of the types of packages which are to be supported may at times be very limited. Therefore an increment of adjustment much smaller than that provided in the ybookcase is desirable, and this is provided by the construction of the present invention.

The sides of the shelves, Ias 10, may be formed by angle irons with vertically depending anges 26 at their outer sides and extending between the inwardly facing flanges 20f of a front member 20 and 22,]c of a rear upright 22, which flanges are in the same plane.

As seen in FIG. 2 the front ends of the shelves are supported -by headed pins 28 projecting from flanges 26 and engaging in one of a series of bayonet slots 30' in the adjacent flange 201 of member 20. This provides a pivotal connection and permits Ithe shelf to lie at a variable angle determined by the point of support at the rear as on upright 22.

The supporting means 'for the rear of the shelf is shown in FIG. 3 and comprises brackets 30 movably and adjustably mounted on the adjacent ange 22f of upright 22 by means of an array of slots 32 in the latter flange as will more fully appear. In FIG. 3 the major portions of the brackets 4are at the further side of the liiange of u-pright 22 and yappear dotted in the figure.

The bracket (see FIG. 4) has two horizontal shoulders 34 to underride the vertical flange 26 of the side member of the shelf, which, when sloped, rests on the forward one of these shoulders, and a tongue 36 arising from these shoulders overlies the flange 26 which latter is confined between the tongue and the inwardly facing ilange 22) of the channeled upright 22. Projecting beyond these shoulders are downw-ardly -facing hooks 3-8 which pass through selected slots 32 in the flange of the upright and interlock with their lower edges. 'Iihe dimensions of the throats -39 of the hooks is substantially equal to the thickness of the ange of the upright. There are two only of these hooks, one on each side of the bracket, which are vertically offset for reasons which will appear. The brackets are identical. 1N o rights and lefts are required.

FIG. 7 shows a strip of metal with the outlines of blanks for the brackets indicated thereon and shows how they may be formed from such a strip, rolled into shape and severed one from another.

The channel uprights as 22 are of identical construction (not rights and lefts) and if faced the same way, open side lforward in the figures, can serve indifferenti-ally as right hand, intermediate or left hand uprights. However considered alone they are not completely symmetrical but the right lhand lfacing ange '-221 is different (in the' arrangement of slots therein) from the left hand facing tlange 221.

In FIG. 6 the point of view is from the front and we are looking toward the open side of channeled uprights 22. The -gure illustrates the anges 22]c of the channel as i-f folded back into the plane of the web and what we See is the interior of the anges. At right and left of the gure we see simultaneously the interiors of the two uprights 22 which are in -fact at opposite sides of the shelf. In a single -bay structure like FIG. k1 the slotted areas at the extreme right and left would not be utilized for connection of the shelf to the uprights.V

Referring to FIG.6 we seeat the left of the figure but nearer the center the right-facing flange 22;"ofvthe left upright 2.2.A The arrangement of slots therein is'identical with the right flange of the-right upright'ZZ` at the extreme right ofthe figure. ATheIarrarigement of slots in the left facing'ange'of'the left upright "andthe-right facing ange of t-hefleft upright'is thefsame butjdiffers from that of the other two flanges. The shelf 'therefor is received between two IilangesI which differ-in -the arrangement of slots, the arrangements -being those of the two adjacent arrays lof the central 'portion of FIG. 6.

Each flange is pierced-by three vertical vcolumns of aligned slots 32 with their elements staggered. That is the slots are disposed inech'elon to provide ranks of aligned slots at an inclination tothe vertical as indicated by the lines 40 'at the left of FIG. 6 which pass lthrough the centers of the slots of two "such ranks. I The-vertical spacing of the centersof-adjacen't pairs of slots approximates their lengths. Therefore two horizontally aligned slots have their upper andlower ends substantially/coinciding with the lower and upper ends of slots atrespeetiyely higher and lower levels. However as willl appear from `the figure the inclinedranks of thearray*in` t he left hand -facing surface of the upright at the rig'htvareL offset vertically from. the ranks-Sin --thejfopposite righ of the member at the1eft',"

facin surfacethe center (viewingtheig'ure) and right vertical-col-V lurnns. If the hooks-are shifted upwardly and tol the left in the rank, the brackets take .the dotted line'po'sition with the hooks receive`d"in slots ofl the-` left hand and center vertical columns. I'he bracket is Athus adjusted to '46 positions spaced zby little `over half the vertical'dist-ance between the slots in a column When a bracket is turned around a vertical aX'ist-he upper and lower hooks exch-ange sides. The offsetting of the ranks in the oppositely facing arrays permits'lt-he brackets to be assembled with the opposite 'upright at exactly the sameelevation and directly opposite although the hooks engage in-vertically disaligned slots respectively of two vertical columns which columns as such respectively lie in the same two'vertical planes.

The capacity -for closez ldjustrnent is obtained by the cooperation ofthe particular -forrn Iof braclet which has t-woonly vertically oset hooks with the closely arranged '4 slotsl in diagonal-ranks.. I clair'n:

. A framed' construction comprising at least one pair of 4 uprights supporting the vends of a transverse shelf-like element extending between theuprights, the uprights' of the pair having right and left facing portions between which said element 'is received;` each uprigh'tf"consistingofA a thickness of metal having three vertical columns of verticallyelongated slots disposed inlechelon` to provideranks of aligned slots at an inclination-: to the vertical',

the-vertical spacing of the centersrof adjacent pairs of slots in a rank approximating their lengths,the ranks of the .right facing columns being offset vertically from the ranks of the left facing columnsby a distance equal to the vertical distancejbetwee'n adjacent slotsA of a column,

below thetransversel element and two onlydownwardlyopening projecting hooks *eachl ofa size to passethrough .v a slot and engage around' thelo'wer edge thereof, the 'hooks being spacedhorizontally `and vertically-1o' corre-Vv sponclwith the horizon-taland` vertical spacing.. of ,adjal- .cent' slots inra'v rapk'it'o. permitlthem .to; bef-fittedlinto any umn.

References Cited in `the tile :patenti UNITED -sTATEs PATENTS v aerien-wim both uprights-romana radjusmiejnt of the engagingportions ina series of positions spaced by half thevertical distancebetween the adjacent-slotsrofa col- 

